Mūkade
Mūkade (ムウカデ, Muukade) is a mysterious man who has expressed a strong desire to "end difference" among living beings, and for that purpose, he is searching for the Jinki Fragments. He leads a team of seven Xìnrénlèi, crafted from his seven innate emotions (or as he calls it, his seven "sins" of mortality). Mūkade is one of the four main antagonists of the series. Appearance .]] Mūkade's original appearance was rather scholarly, donning circular-shaped glasses that were kept on the end of his nose. His long black hair was kept in a knot, leaving no bangs to cover his face, except for a few stray hairs. Mūkade wpre a long midnight-blue haori with a darker blue cloak ontop of it, edged with light blue designs. The haori and the cloak would end past his neck, pointed up into a long collar. Upon entering battle himself, his appearance had changed drastically. He let his hair down, becoming loose and rigid, covering half his face. His black haori has become longer, and has red clouds etched into the bottom half. He wears a black obi, with a red and white design pattern circling it; the ends of his sleeves also don a flame-like pattern. Ontop of his haori, he wears scarlet red armor which is capable of reflecting reishi. This armor is edged with a golden color, glowing brightly whenever reflecting spiritual energy. The armor is not connected, and ends in three similar flaps from his waist, at the same location where the red cloud pattern begins on his haori. Mūkade's hakama is dark blue, and very loose-fitting. He wears, what is presumed to be, his Zanpakutō on his waist, kept fastened by his obi. Personality History Mūkade's past is riddled with betrayal and murder. When he was but an child in Soul Society, he came to heavily depend on his older sister for support, since their parents were rarely home and did little to take care of them. He viewed his sister as his closest companion and came of the impression that he'd do anything for her, even if it cost him his life. She, however, was not as kind as he was. She made use of young Mūkade's love and commitment to her and forced him into brutal work days, some of which left the boy tired, exhausted, and unable to do much once complete, but the young Mūkade thought nothing of it; only wanting to prove his care and love for his dear sister. One day, she took it too far. In desperation for money to take care of herself, she sold Mūkade into slavery in the most volitile area of the Rukongai, where things like that ran rampant. When the slave owners came to take Mūkade away, he begged and pleaded with his sister to save him, but she turned her back on him, claiming that he wasn't worthy to be her younger brother, and left Mūkade to be dragged off in tears. During his time in slavery, he met another boy of his age who was also a slave. The two worked for the same master and so they became good friend in time. The boys' master was harsh and unforgiving, and would regularly beat the two for no other reason than to amuse himself. Mūkade and his newfound friend then made a plan to escape from slavery to the Seireitei, where they had heard rumors of food, wealth, and fame; a life without pain. The night they were to execute their plan, their master caught them attempting to flee his home and caught them. He decided that he had no further use of each boy and planned their execution. He forced Mūkade to witness the slow and brutal murder of his friend before turning on him. In that instant, in his intense pain and horror, Mūkade temporarily awakened his Sōzōshin powers and violently retaliated against his former master. He then held his dying friend in his arms and cried over him as the boy's final breath left his body. Once again he was alone and on his own. At this point, his pain was beginning to turn into a question; Why him? Why did the ones he love seem to turn on him and die? He decided to run away from it all, to the center of the Rukongai where life was peaceful. He thought for awhile he'd found it...until, that is, he met her... She was gorgeous, and well mannered. Not like his decietful, back-stabbing sister or the wife of his former slave master. Mūkade had met her in a local pub, and she seemed to like him a lot; thinking he was funny, sensitive, and a good man. The two decided to start dating after they'd become good friends and drinking buddies. For years, into Mūkade's late teens, the two were together, and he was beginning to think all of his troubles were finally gone. However, as luck, or rather bad luck, would have it, the night he had set to propose to her was marked with trajety. As he ventured down the street to her well kept home to do the deed, he was confronted by a group of low ranking Shinigami who arrested him on murder charges related to the death of his slave master, whom the Shinigami were unaware was a slave owner. His betrayer; none other than his beautiful bride-to-be, who'd heard him tell the tale of that night during one of their "get togethers" and then relayed information to the Shinigami who patrolled that area. Grief stricken at yet another betrayal, Mūkade's pain was now beginning to turn into nihilsm, hatred, and resentment. After breaking out of the Maggot's Nest, with the help of his Sōzōshin powers, he began seeking a means to destroy this "spirit" where all of this pain originated from. "Who needed useless feelings such as love or commitment, anyway?" he'd ask himself. He began to seek a way to break what he viewed as the "imperfect spirit" to make the world "perfect", and he found it in the Jinki Fragments. If he were to join these together, he would be able to govern the "Spirit of the World" and crush it, forever breaking the useless thing called "spirit". And so, with that in mind, he set off to find the fragments....and make them his own. Synopsis Equipment *'Red Hōgyoku:' It is a byproduct in the creation of the Black Hōgyoku. It was given to Mūkade by Sōkudo, and was used in the formation of the former's seven Xìnrénlèi. There is not much known about it, other than that it functions similarly to a regular Hōgyoku. Powers & Abilities Mūkade stands as one of the most powerful enemies in the series, acclaimed to be as stronger or even stronger than any single member of the L'Obscurité. His skills are still considerable, seen when he poses a challenge to Mikami Karasumori (the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13), defeats Sannotō Kawahiru (an S-class criminal), and holds his own in a one-on-four fight against Minato Kuramoto, Rūka Ishida, Seireitou Kawahiru, and Raian Getsueikirite (the former two being a Jinki Fragment and a Quincy, the latter two being experienced former Captains). Overbearing Spiritual Power: Mūkade's spiritual power reeks of mystery, as it is incomprehendable. Raian Getsueikirite noted that his power continues to shift in the amount that is emitted, and the feel of it also changes. In terms of coloration, it seems that it is black, but it has also been shown to be grey as well. Seireitou Kawahiru had stated that Mūkade's spirit energy signature is extremely similar to that of a Sōzōshin, but it is unknown if he is actually one in terms of blood. It appears that Mūkade's spirit energy has defensive capabilities, capable of being involuntarily crafted into a ribcage-like shield that can block against all but the strongest attacks. *'Motionary Control:' While it first is implied to be gravitational manipulation, Mūkade reveals that he can control the motion of his opponents. By this, he can effortlessly take them out of a movement and put them in rest, and vice-versa. He can mentally pull at their being, and actually drag them towards him or away from his centre. Immense Speed: While it is unknown what type of speed Mūkade utilizes, his speed is absolutely amazing. He was able of effortlessly outstripping the extension power of Entenryū, which moves at mach five-hundred. He was able to stop four simultaneous attacks, on all four members of his Xcution, by four different opponents, with seemingly little effort. He is also fast enough to keep up with Hibiki Asakura almost effortlessly, the latter being acclaimed as a "Grandmaster" in the art of Hohō. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Mūkade is a skilled swordsman, presumed to have decades of training. He is shown to be able to hold his own against the likes of Raian and Seireitou, both of which are skilled and have their own respective years of experience. He was also able to take on the combined might of four Captains with only his Zanpakutō's sealed state. Despite his skill, he prefers to fight using his Shikai's ability, or Kidō. Unrealistic Perception: Mūkade possesses incredible clarity of perception, to an almost unrealistic degree, allowing him to easily recognize illusions and different forms of spiritual energy. He is also able to pick up on subtle details, enabling him to read lip movements and even mimic something like flash step movements. Mūkade revealed an additional ability to track fast-moving objects, showing off immense predictive capabilities. In other words, Mūkade is capable of predicting the movements of his opponents, to the point where the opponent likens it to "seeing the future". He displayed this ability in a short fight with Raian and Seireitou, being able to near effortlessly read and predict both of their movements, and effectively counter them. Instantaneous Kidō: Something unique to Mūkade alone, he can activate Kidō with a mere glance, while they still retain their full power. Without stating incantations, he can also combine spells and use them in any way he see fits. Mūkade can even alter an opponent's Kidō, either using the energy to replenish his own, or redirecting it back to the opponent(s). Hyōra commented that this ability was almost god-like, as Mūkade could use multiple Kidō without even a word nor physical movement. Massive Strength: Mūkade halted the large blade of Raian Getsueikirite with a single arm, and was able to hold off an offensive assault by Seireitou Kawahiru on his other end, with his Zanpakutō held with in hand. He can overturn concrete with a single fist, and chuck massive pieces of concrete with only a finger or two. Zanpakutō Sōshisōai (相思相愛, "Mutual Love"): Mūkade's Zanpakutō, in its sealed form, appears as a standard katana. Its guard takes the appearance of two silver rings attached to eachother horizontally, having a size and shape proportional to the blade and hilt. The handle's color is black, and possesses a design that consists of a silver double-helix that connects from the base of the handle, all the way to the sword's guard. Sōshisōai's name is highly ironic, given Mūkade's desire to kill off the emotion that lies in people's hearts. *'Shikai:' While it does possess a release command, Mūkade often releases his Zanpakutō without it, which implies that he has obtained a Bankai. The blade does not change during release, allowing Mūkade to catch an opponent off-guard. Sōshisōai is capable of two types of cut: one which can injure or kill an opponent and one which can "meld minds" with a target. However, when he cuts Shien, he injured him and attempted to enforce his will over him, showing that he can combine the two types of cut. :Shikai Special Ability: Sōshisōai's power allows Mūkade to "meld minds" with an opponent cut by his Zanpakutō's blade. The ability only requires a single cut from Sōshisōai's blade, but normally needs anywhere between three to ten minutes before taking effect, depending on the level of mental stability of an opponent. Once affected, Mūkade's consciousness floods into the opponent's own mind, and literally makes them and himself, as Mūkade calls it, "a single mental existence". Because of this, just like that of Shūkurō Tsukishima's Falsification of History power, it is impossible to overcome Sōshisōai's ability through willpower. While they retain their own individual powers and abilities, and even their voice remains the same, their mind is Mūkade's, and are essentially puppets. The eyesight and knowledge of the affected and Mūkade are shared, allowing Mūkade to coordinate their movements in a single fight, or even handle multiple fights in several different locations. The most dangerous aspect of this power is that there is no limit to how many people are cut by this power, as its ability does not weaken any of its pre-existing holds on prior victims. In addition, the more people that are under this blade's influence, the stronger its power becomes; meaning that a person who normally would be able to avoid falling for its power, the chances that they would be inflicted after being cut would increase in direct correlation to their amount of mental strength and the number of people already under Sōshisōai's power. There doesn't seem to be any particular limit to how many people can remain under Sōshisōai's influence, especially considering that the more individuals under Mūkade's control, the stronger its hold over currently-possessed and potentially-influenced individuals increases exponentially. Despite this, Mūkade prefers to only keep about six or seven individuals under his influence at any one time in order to better coordinate their actions. In addition, because of this personally-set limitation, Mūkade often will change up his roster of possessed individuals. Its only weakness, according to Mūkade, is to "force out" Sōshisōai's influence after being cut, before the mind melding process is complete. Otherwise, the ability can not be broken unless Mūkade wills it to (by way of a second cut), or if Mūkade is killed. :*'Kyūmin Aijō' (休眠感情, Dormant Affections): Once Sōshisōai's ability overwhelms a victim and successfully melds minds with them, Mūkade is capable of seemingly deactivating his hold over them temporarily; essentially, he turns them into "sleeper agents". He does this often in order to maintain only a handful of individuals at one time, while still retaining more in order to serve higher purposes or to replace one of the aforementioned handful. During the time when his ability lies dormant in them, they go about their lives while having no knowledge to Mūkade's actions. When he reinforces his will over them, it is represented by a faint red glow in the chosen victim's eyes. At that time, Mūkade's hold over them immediately activates and they become his to control. :*'Hōishi' (歩石, Stepping Stone): By relieving influence among a specific amount of those under Sōshisōai's influence, all of the collective power used to maintain all of those people can be pooled together in order to take command of a far stronger target, such was the case when Mūkade relieved command of over a thousand Arrancar and a thousand Shinigami in order to meld minds with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.Bleach story; Incoming Storms *'Bankai:' Myō'ō no Sanka'ai (寂然, Synergistic Love of Ruination): Under Construction... Quotes * (To Raian Getsueikirite) "Why should I care what happens to the world... or anybody in it?" * "Why should I run and hide from the world and have to wait quietly? My aim is to rid our world of the vague and incomplete thing we call spirit. By freeing ourselves of that, our world can be made complete. That is my justice... and no one will interfere." * (To Seireitou Kawahiru) "But I must say... You are a remarkable being. Those Jinki Fragments have nothing to do with you, do they not? But still you came to rescue them out of pity? Such pitifully useless emotions... It's illogical and irrational. Pity and compassion are products of a weak and lacking heart. You were compelled to come here by vacuous sentimentality. I will make you regret paying heed to your heart." * (Regarding the Gotei 13's arrival, to Raian) "So the Shinigami have come to protect Soul Society? Pathetic and worthless. Their coming here is in vain. So much meaningless drama, wouldn't you agree? You've constantly interfered with my plans, but you will be forgiven, my young Jinki Fragment friend. After all, in just a few short hours, all spirit will disappear. It will be ripped away... From you! From your friends! From all those precious to you...! The time is soon approaching, my dream will be my reality!" References Behind the Scenes